Peres in Holland: ‘I Doubt Whether Assad Read Anne Frank’s Diary’

Visiting the house where child Holocaust victim Anne Frank hid from the Nazis before being captured and killed, during a state visit to the Netherlands, Israeli President Shimon Peres used the opportunity to warn against allowing tyrants and rogue regimes to develop and use weapons of mass destruction.

“As I begin my visit to the Netherlands today I cannot ignore what is happening around us and say in a clear voice that Anne Frank’s warning stands before us today. I doubt whether Assad read Anne Frank’s diary, when he didn’t hesitate to use chemical weapons to murder innocent women and children,” Peres said, referring to an incident last month in which the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad killed up to 1400 civilians in a chemical attack. “It serves as a warning to us all against a tyrant who uses chemical weapons to murder children and against attempts to develop nuclear weapons for mass destruction.”

During the visit President Peres examined unique original pages from Anne Frank’s diary and was presented with an original photo album Anne Frank compiled during her time hiding in the annex, according to a communique from the President’s office.